Weird Universe Archive
September 2024
September 30, 2024
The Cat Hat of Kate Fearing Strong
In 1883, William and Alva Vanderbilt spent $250,000 to throw a fancy dress ball. That's the equivalent of around $6 million in today's money. The most memorable outfit was worn by Kate Fearing Strong. Her nickname was 'Puss', so she came dressed as a cat. As reported by the New York Times:
New York Times - Mar 27, 1883
The cats on her dress and hat were real cats — skinned and taxidermied.
More info: "Vanderbilt Ball: How a costume ball changed New York elite society"
Kate Fearing Strong wearing her cat hat
Posted By: Alex - Mon Sep 30, 2024 -
Comments (4)
Category: Headgear, Cats, Nineteenth Century
Follies of the Madmen #607
Next time a female police officer stops you, ask if she's wearing Eiderlon panties.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Sep 30, 2024 -
Comments (1)
Category: Fashion, Underwear, Advertising, 1960s
September 29, 2024
Secrets of Successful Varmint Calling
Secrets of Successful Varmint Calling, by Johnny Stewart, was released in 1967. I could only find a brief clip from it, but I pasted an article below with some more tips on varmint calling.Here in Phoenix you don't need any special trick to find varmints (aka coyotes). Just go for a walk in the early morning and you're bound to see one.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram - Aug 5, 1984
Posted By: Alex - Sun Sep 29, 2024 -
Comments (2)
Category: Animals, Hunting, Trapping and Other Wilderness Activities, Vinyl Albums and Other Media Recordings, 1960s
Clamp for Male Urinary Incontinence
I think you could substitute something like this from the hardware store.Full patent here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Sep 29, 2024 -
Comments (1)
Category: Hygiene, Technology, 1950s, Men
September 28, 2024
The League of Honest Coffee Lovers
The Pan-American Coffee Bureau was a marketing organization that represented coffee growers from Central and South America. In 1959, it created and promoted the "League of Honest Coffee Lovers." This was a pseudo-grassroots league of Americans rallying to demand stronger coffee.Apparently American coffee had been getting weaker and weaker. In 1950 it was common for restaurants to brew 46 cups from a pound of coffee. By 1959, by adding more water, they were getting 64 cups from a pound. The Pan-American Coffee Bureau wanted to stop this trend.
The League of Honest Coffee Lovers was, itself, just a flash in the pan. But the Pan-American Coffee Bureau had a huge influence on American coffee culture. It's credited with creating the term "coffee break" and getting lots of people to take them. It popularized the year-round drinking of iced coffee. And ultimately it did get Americans drinking stronger coffee.
More info: Lens Coffee
Life - Jan 11, 1960
Those who agreed with the goals of the League of Honest Coffee Lovers could send away and get a certificate of membership.
Posted By: Alex - Sat Sep 28, 2024 -
Comments (4)
Category: Clubs, Fraternities and Other Self-selecting Organizations, Advertising, Coffee and other Legal Stimulants, 1950s
Listen Well, Learn Well
Posted By: Paul - Sat Sep 28, 2024 -
Comments (0)
Category: Education, Noises and Other Public Disturbances of the Peace, 1950s
September 27, 2024
The effect of humming on vision
A Dec 1967 article ("Effect of humming on vision") by William Rushton in the journal Nature reported that:Humming causes the eye to vibrate and this can produce a strobo-scopic effect when a rotating black and white strobe disk is viewed in non-fluctuating light.
I'm sure that's interesting, but it's a response to Rushton's article published four months later that I find more interesting. A former member of the Air Training Corps described how it was possible, by humming (or rather, "purring"), to make your head vibrate such that, when looking at a spinning propeller, the propeller would seem to stop in mid-air. By increasing or decreasing the intensity of humming/purring, one could then determine in which direction the propeller was rotating.
I haven't tested this out to see if it works, but if any of you do have a chance to test it out, please report back with your results.
Nature - Apr 20, 1968
Posted By: Alex - Fri Sep 27, 2024 -
Comments (2)
Category: Science, Air Travel and Airlines, 1960s, Eyes and Vision
John F. Dreyer, Three-Dee Glasses Tycoon
Posted By: Paul - Fri Sep 27, 2024 -
Comments (0)
Category: Inventions, Patents, Movies, 1950s
September 26, 2024
Teflon as a weight-loss aid
A 2016 article in the Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology ("Polytetrafluoroethylene Ingestion as a Way to Increase Food Volume and Hence Satiety Without Increasing Calorie Content") proposed using Teflon as a weight-loss aid. The idea was to add powdered Teflon to food in order to bulk up the food's volume without adding calories. From the article:PTFE, a plastic commonly known as Teflon®, can be used to supplement volume in the diet by mixing the raw material (virgin PTFE powder) into food. Because PTFE is heat resistant, its mixing into food can take place before or after cooking. PTFE is soft and contributes no flavor (evident by its use in tongue piercings) and hence does not detract from the eating experience. It is also resistant to the strongest acids (PTFE containers are used industrially for storing acids) and therefore will not be degraded by stomach acid. It is extremely inert (widely considered to be the most inert material known) so it will not react within the body. It has a low coefficient of friction so that it will not scratch the lining of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract during transport. Because of its chemical and physical properties and long history of use and contact with humans, PTFE is widely considered a very safe material. It is extensively used in medical devices (for instance, a large portion of the artificial blood vessel grafts that have been successfully implanted into people for decades are made from pure PTFE). For these reasons, PTFE is an ideal material for use as a nonmetabolized food volume bulking agent.
Maybe they're right about the harmless effects of ingesting Teflon, but it sure would be an uphill battle to convince the public of this given the widespread concern about ingesting Teflon from scratched pans. The manufacturer of Teflon briefly addresses this concern on the Teflon.com website:
Myth: I'm still not convinced that particles of nonstick coating won't come off during cooking and get into my food.
Fact: Particles from Teflon™ nonstick coatings are not harmful, even if ingested.
Fact: Particles from Teflon™ nonstick coatings are not harmful, even if ingested.
via New Scientist
Posted By: Alex - Thu Sep 26, 2024 -
Comments (4)
Category: Science, Dieting and Weight Loss
Dis-Gorilla
Posted By: Paul - Thu Sep 26, 2024 -
Comments (0)
Category: Animals, Fads, Fey, Twee, Whimsical, Naive and Sadsack, Music, 1970s
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction books such as Elephants on Acid. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Chuck Shepherd Chuck is the purveyor of News of the Weird, the syndicated column which for decades has set the gold-standard for reporting on oddities and the bizarre. Our banner was drawn by the legendary underground cartoonist Rick Altergott. Contact Us |
